Lake Highland Prep wrestlers capture seven crowns as the Highlanders win their first National Prep Tournament

The Highlanders pulled away from northeastern powers Blair Academy and Wyoming Seminary

The Lake Highland Prep Wrestling team left little doubt in winning its first ever National Prep Tournament championship, Saturday at Lehigh University. / Lake Highland Prep Wrestling

No. 4 Lake Highland Prep of Florida ended day one of the National Prep Tournament a single point ahead of No. 3 Pennsylvania’s Wyoming Seminary, 191-190. No. 9 Blair Academy from New Jersey was in third with 172 points.

The first order of business at Lehigh University’s Stabler Arena on Saturday morning was the semifinals and remaining consolations. When they concluded, a gap had grown between the Highlanders and now second place Buccaneers in the form of a 39-point divide. The Blue Knights were in third with 251.

Lake Highland had finalists in half the weights, and all seven of them rose to victory to power the Highlanders first ever National Prep Tournament Championship. Blair was second with 277.5, Seminary third with 267, No. 7 Malvern Prep (PA) was fourth, and rounding out the top five was No. 30 Greens Farms Academy (CT).

“Winning National Preps was a goal set in 2020 when we planned to move on from winning state titles,” Highlanders’ coach Mike Palazzo said. “(I’m) super proud of our guys for getting it done. As we always have; this crew with no exception, showed up week after week this entire season at the toughest places in the nation. For the last 18 seasons my goal has always been to be the best team in the nation and this year I think we have no doubt made a solid bit of an argument to this case.”

(From left) Liam Davis (113), Jayce Paridon (138), Charlie Desena (144), Zeno Moore (150), Lucas Boe (157), Claudio Torres (165) and Jacob Levy (285) won National Prep individual titles to help fuel their team to a dominant team championship. / Lake Highland Prep Wrestling

With team race concerns out of the picture, it allowed the storyline of the finals to shine on No. 1 Jude Correa (Wyoming Seminary), who was in pursuit of his fourth title. A club so exclusive there were only 12 members, the last to join, Beau Bartlett also donned the Blue of the Knights from 2017-2020.

Correa was in control from the early going with a first period takedown and a third period escape, building a 4-0 lead over No. 18 Cash Colbert (Paul VI, VA). An eventual takedown by Colbert, put the Seminary side on the edge of their seats. Colbert had Correa on his heels the rest of the way in pursuit of a takedown that never came but resulted in a stall warning and a stall call to make the final tally, 5-4, in favor of Correa.

Last year Correa was able to celebrate a team title alongside nine other champs. In 2025, the Blue Knight’s only other champs was also a repeat titlist as No. 5 Matthew Botello, a senior, used a late takedown in the second period for all the points he would need to drop No. 21 Tyler Conroy (Malvern Prep), 4-1. Botello’s previous meeting with Conroy at Ironman resulted in a 10-2 majority decision.

This year’s team glory was bestowed upon Lake Highland Prep and their stable of place winners that saw all thirteen of their entries reach the podium.

One of the Highlanders champs, Liam Davis (honorable mention in our 113lb rankings), set an example that two of his other underdog teammates followed as Adaias Ortiz came out of the 12th seed at 126 to take third and Clint Portner came from farther down the ranks, seeded 14th and turning heads with an eight-place finish.

Davis was seeded fourth in his brackets, so to reach the final he would need to slay National Prep Runner-up and No. 6 in the country Julian Rios (Phillips Andover, MA) in the semis. Davis came up big by forcing his foe into overtime where he secured a takedown for the 4-1 win.

In the finals, Davis squared off with Blair’s No. 16 Michael Batista. To everyone but Davis and the Highlanders, Batista was expected to come out on top based on his two wins last season versus Davis (Beast of the East and National Preps), and Davis’ loss at PowerAde to Wyoming Seminary’s third seeded Wyatt Spencer (honorable mention nationally).

Setting the tone for his team in the final round came on the strength of two takedowns en route to a 7-3 decision of Batista for Davis’ first crown here for the four-time placer who is just a junior, and placed as an eighth grader.

When the next Highlander was crowned champ, four more followed, as Lake Highland had the number one seeded guy from 138 to 165, and every one of them completed championship runs, No. 7 Jayce Paridon (138), No. 16 Charlie DeSena (144), No. 7 Zeno Moore (150), No. 9 Lucas Boe (157), and No. 8 Claudio Torres (165).

Paridon defeated Wyoming Seminary’s No. 25 Dale Corbin for the second time this year (first at Ironman) to claim his first gold after being fourth a year ago. DeSena, a junior, won his first crown after a second place finish last year for the now three-time All-American, 12-5, over a Blue Knight foe of his own, Matthew Dimen.

Charlie DeSena hacked and slashed his way to a National Prep championship, helping Lake Highland Prep win the team title! pic.twitter.com/xFsoM3Wi8F

— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) February 23, 2025

Like Davis, Moore’s trips to the National Preps started when he was an eighth grader, and he too has reached the podium every time, with his highest placing until this year being last year’s third. Moore teched honorable mention Tyler Hood of St. Christopher’s, Virginia, 17-2. Moore previously downed Hood at the Beast, 11-2.

After a third place showing as a freshman, Boe, a sophomore, claimed top honors by blanking third-seeded Nadav Nafshi (Germantown Academy, PA), 7-0. Nafshi upset the number two seed, Nate Consigli (Northfield Mount Hermon, MA), 7-2, to reach the final. 

Torres’ first time in the prep world came when the tournament had a brief run in Maryland as a sophomore who shocked top-seeded William Henckel from Blair in the semis on his way to the crown. That was followed by a third-place finish and now as a senior, Torres got back to the top with a 10-7 win over No. 11 Salah Tsarni (Bullis School, MD). It was a rematch of the Beast of the East final, also won by Torres, 4-3.

Lake Highland’s seventh champ, No. 6 Jacob Levy (285), came in this year from Carrollton, Georgia. Levy beat No. 13 James Bechter (Northfield Mount Hermon), a national prep runner-up, at Escape the Rock, 5-2. In the finals, they renewed that rivalry with Levy claiming a 4-1 win.

Ortiz’s bronze quest included two wins over the number four seed, Jackson Heslin (Greens Farms Academy), 4-0, in the placement match, and 7-3 in the quarters. Ortiz’s first upset came over fifth-seeded Jaxon Lane (McCallie, TN), 11-1. No. 7 Robert Kucharczk was third at 190lbs.

No. 27 Alex Smith was fourth for the Highlanders at 215. Placing seventh were Marlo Clark (120) and Miguel Rojas (175), who were both seeded eighth. Plotner’s placement came as a result of two unexpected wins over eleventh seeded Cole Gumlick (Lakeway Christan, TN) and returning national prep placer and fifth seed, Drew Roggie (St. Christopher’s).

Blair has been on an upward trajectory since mid-January when they beat No. 11 St. Edward of Ohio in a dual. At the time, St. Edward was ahead of the Bucs in the rankings. As the regular season drew to a close, Blair went toe-to-toe with No. 6 Delbarton (NJ) in a dual that was decided on the final match.

So, their second-place finish falls in line with the way they were trending. The Buccaneers pushed four into the gold medal matches and made the short trip back to Jersey with two gold medalists, No. 1 Leo DeLuca (120) and No. 3 William Henckel (175).

A deluge of takedowns and back points propelled DeLuca to an easy tech fall that was over in 2:49 (18-1) over No. 21 Isaac Novod (Belmont Hill, MA) to deliver his second championship after two successive second place finishes. The senior’s first title came as a 113lb freshman.

Four pins and a tech fall, including one in the finals over No. 11 Maximus Norman (Baylor School, TN), 3:38, helped Henckel to his second consecutive championship. Henckel, who was second as a freshman and third last year, beat Norman, 8-3, at Ironman.

Falling short in their quest for gold were Batista and No. 12 Vince Anello. Post-grad Jackson Schwab was third at 285. Placing fourth for Blair were Ellis Kirsch (132), honorable mention Weston Borgers (138), and Barry Norman (165). Joesph Schinder was fifth at 157. No. 29 Eddie George (106) and TJ Kellas (215) were seventh.

Malvern Prep’s No. 7 Matt O’Neill placed second at preps in his eighth-grade campaign. The freshman reached this year’s finals and saw a familiar face, Blair’s Anello. The two split matches at the Beast of the East with O’Neill winning the consolation final. O’Neill posted a third period takedown en route to a 4-0 win for the 126lb gold.

Competing as an eight grader and post-grad are two of the unique things that can occur at preps. No. 25 Ariah Mills from Athens Christian in Georgia is in the eight grade and was able to take advantage of the rules to spotlight his enormous talent.

It was blinding as the number three seed, who was a double national champ at Fargo, destroyed No. 20 Tanner Tran (Father Ryan, TN), the second seed, 20-5, in the semis, then blew out No. 4 Justin Farnsworth of Malvern Prep, 11-2, in the finals. To paint a picture of how impressive Mills’ win was, Farnsworth won the Beast of the East, was second at Ironman and Escape the Rock, and third at PowerAde.

The 190lb final positioned two guys with a history together, No. 3 Emmitt Sherlock (Gilman School, MD) and No. 4 Lane Foard (Benedictine Prep, VA).

Foard was awarded the number one seed based on runner-up placings at Ironman and Beast, in addition to the fact that he had been at this weight all year while Sherlock had just recently made the move up on the national scene.

Sherlock was given the higher ranking in our most recent 190lb report based on his four wins over Foard over the previous two seasons. Two each at Ray Oliver and the National Prep Tournament. When Sherlock won his quarter-final match to guarantee placement, the senior joined a group of rare five-time National Prep All-Americans, becoming just the ninth member.

Foard cruised to the finals with three pins and a major decision. Sherlock saw easy sledding early on before grinding out a 1-0 win over unranked, sixth seed, Reese Spiro (Northfield Mount Hermon) in the semis.

This was a precursor of things to come, as Foard put forth an impressive effort that saw him ride Sherlock out the entire second period, a trick Sherlock usually pulls, then end the scoreless situation with some penalty points, an escape, and a takedown for a 6-0 win.

Team Scores (Top 20)

1-Lake Highland Prep, FL 332

2-Blair Academy, NJ 277.5

3-Wyoming Seminary, PA 267

4-Malvern Prep, PA 220.5

5-Greens Farms Academy, CT 186

6-Northfield Mount Hermon, MA 178.5

7-New York Military Academy, NY 118.5

8-Baylor School, TN 110

9-St. Christopher’s, VA 104.5

10-Gilman School, MD 87.5

11-Hill School, PA 83

12-Belmont Hill, MA 80.5

13-Germantown Academy, PA 77.5

14-Father Ryan, TN 75.5

15-Benedictine Prep, VA 73.5

16-Bullis School, MD 73

17-Archbishop Spalding, MD 70.5

18-McCallie, TN 61

19-Loyola-Blakefield, MD 48

20-Lakeway Christian Academy, TN 46.5

106 lbs

1st Ariah Mills (Athens Christian School) MD Justin Farnsworth (Malvern), 11-2

3rd Tanner Tran (Father Ryan) DEC Wyatt Stauffer (Wyoming Seminary), 6-0

5th Tyler Verceles (Loyola Blakefield) DEC Royce Wetzler (Benedictine Prep), 4-1

7th Eddie George (Blair Academy) TF Triston Mouton (Baylor School), 19-4 2:44

113 lbs

1st Liam Davis (Lake Highland Prep) DEC Michael Batista (Blair Academy), 7-3

3rd Julian Rios (Phillips Academy) DEC Liam Mcgettigan (Gilman), 6-1

5th Wyatt Spencer (Wyoming Seminary) DEC Brighton Karvoski (Greens Farms Academy), 3-2

7th Brendan Kelly (Malvern) F Eli Chesla (Archbishop Spalding), 4:27

120 lbs

1st Leo Deluca (Blair Academy) TF Isaac Novod (Belmont Hill), 18-1 2:49

3rd Oumar Tounkara (New York Military Academy) MD Jack Baron (Germantown Academy), 11-2

5th Gabe Swann (Baylor School) TF Chase Kastner (Greens Farms Academy), 17-2 4:58

7th Marlo Clark (Lake Highland Prep) DEC Caleb Haney (St. Christopher's), 1-0

126 lbs

1st Matt Oniell (Malvern) DEC Vincenzo Anello (Blair Academy), 4-0

3rd Adaias Ortiz (Lake Highland Prep) DEC Jackson Heslin (Greens Farms Academy), 4-0

5th Sean Garretson (Archbishop Spalding) DEC Nikos Filipos (Wyoming Seminary), 8-1

7th Jaxon Lane (McCallie School) F Jake Tamai (Mount Saint Joseph), 2:46

132 lbs

1st Mathew Botello (Wyoming Seminary) DEC Tyler Conroy (Malvern), 4-1

3rd Musa Tamaradze (New York Military Academy) MD Ellis Kirsch (Blair Academy), 10-2

5th Brody Gobbell (Father Ryan) DEC Jack Dragoumanos (Belmont Hill), 7-1

7th Brady Kaupp (Greens Farms Academy) DEC Clint Plotner (Lake Highland Prep), 6-1

138 lbs

1st Jayce Paridon (Lake Highland Prep) DEC Dale Corbin (Wyoming Seminary), 4-3

3rd Casen Roark (Father Ryan) DEC Weston Borgers (Blair Academy), 6-5

5th Zane Leitzel (Archbishop Spalding) DEC Jason Torres (Malvern), 8-2

7th Hunter Avalos (All Saints Episcopal) DEC Spear Gorelick (Charlotte Latin School), 8-1

144 lbs

1st Charlie Desena (Lake Highland Prep) MD Mathew Dimen (Wyoming Seminary), 12-4

3rd Walker Turley (St. Christopher's) DEC Colby Houle (Northfield Mt Hermon), 4-0

5th Ben Zuckerman (Greens Farms Academy) DEC Ray Fitzgerald (Malvern), 7-5

7th Andrew Mccarthy (New York Military Academy) F Nicky Melfi (Severn School), 1:52

150 lbs

1st Zeno Moore (Lake Highland Prep) TF Tyler Hood (St. Christopher's), 17-2 6:00

3rd Evan Boblits (St. Mary's Ryken) DEC Declan Obyrne (Malvern), 6-2

5th Cole Albert (The Hill School) M FOR Anthony Evanitsky (Wyoming Seminary)

7th Myles Burroughs (Northfield Mt Hermon) DEC Oliver Phillips (Baylor School), 4-3

157 lbs

1st Lucas Boe (Lake Highland Prep) DEC Nadav Nafshi (Germantown Academy), 7-0

3rd Arment Waltenbaugh (The Hill School) DEC Noah Tucker (Bullis School), 4-0

5th Joseph Schinder (Blair Academy) M FOR Nate Consigli (Northfield Mt Hermon), 0-0 0:00

7th Wyatt Fry (Wyoming Seminary) DEC Stephen Smith (Malvern), 4-2

165 lbs

1st Claudio Torres (Lake Highland Prep) DEC Salah Tsarni (Bullis School), 10-7

3rd Liam Carlin (Greens Farms Academy) DEC Barry Norman (Blair Academy), 4-2

5th Jack Chamberlain (Wyoming Seminary) DEF Chancery Deane (Father Ryan), 0-0 0:50

7th Seth Digby (Northfield Mt Hermon) MD Luke Murray (Peninsula Catholic), 10-2

175 lbs

1st William Henckel (Blair Academy) F Maximus Norman (Baylor School), 3:38

3rd Elliott Humphries (Northfield Mt Hermon) F Brian Chamberlain (Wyoming Seminary), 4:43

5th Benjamin Smith (New York Military Academy) DEC Tyler Neiva (Greens Farms Academy), 7-1

7th Miguel Rojas (Lake Highland Prep) F Greyson Catlow-sidler (William Penn Charter), 2:47

190 lbs

1st Lane Foard (Benedictine Prep) MD Emmitt Sherlock (Gilman), 8-0

3rd Robert Kucharczk (Lake Highland Prep) DEC Reese Spiro (Northfield Mt Hermon), 4-0

5th Sepanta Ahanj-elias (Bullis School) DEC Elijah Josey (Saint Frances Academy), 5-4

7th Anthony Bruscino (Wyoming Seminary) DEC Isael Perez (New York Military Academy), 8-3

215 lbs

1st Jude Correa (Wyoming Seminary) DEC Cash Colbert (Paul VI Catholic High School), 5-4

3rd Kingston Daniels silva (Greens Farms Academy) DEC Alex Smith (Lake Highland Prep), 8-6

5th Dylan Greenstein (Northfield Mt Hermon) DEC Ryder Smith (Chattanooga Christian), 8-2

7th Tj Kellas (Blair Academy) DEC Zak Zindle (The Hill School), 9-7

285 lbs

1st Jacob Levy (Lake Highland Prep) DEC James Bechter (Northfield Mt Hermon), 4-1

3rd Jackson Schwab (Blair Academy) F Walker Walls (Bishop Lynch High School), 2:51

5th Dominic Iaquinto (Greens Farms Academy) F Luke Randazzo (Loyola Blakefield), 4:16

7th Isaiah Taylor (AIM Academy) DEC Dante Donaldson (The Hill School), 5-3